Everything Is Awesome! (When Super Truffle’s Not Resource Guarding)

Greetings to all of my furry and non-furry friends, dogs and humans alike (as well as humans who are furry and dogs that aren’t furry).

My favorite Sophie and human mom have seen “The Lego Movie” twice so far. And my human mom has been warbling the chorus of the film’s song “Everything Is Awesome!” to everyone’s great dismay. But the song is the perfect musical accompaniment for today’s blog post. Why, you ask? Read on, my loyal fans, read on.

What’s Awesome

First, I love the snow. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Snow is awesome. It started to melt over the weekend and I felt torn about the disappearing white stuff. On the one hand, I spent more time outside because it felt so good not to feel so cold. But the snow was getting all mushy and slushy and that’s no fun for a snow bunny like me. My human family celebrated the warmer weather by introducing me to a new toy, the Kyjen Tail Teaser. That cuckoo toy more than made up for the slush. It felt so refreshing to run around the yard with my favorite Sophie. There’s nothing better than feeling the warm breeze in my doodle fur as I chase the squeaky bait.

In other awesome news, my favorite Sophie and I have been spending more time together. She’s my best friend. As my human mom mentioned a couple of days ago, Sophie rocks my world. Mainly because she’s sort of like a puppy, too. She joins me in my favorite corner under human mom’s desk. She chews on my new big boy bed with me. She continues to train me and gives me treats when I obey. She brushes me. She curls up on my puppy bed with me. She has curly hair like me. She’s my new soul mate.

Sophie and I Hanging Out on Super Truffle’s Puppy Bed

What’s Not So Awesome – Resource Guarding

As the title of this blog post suggests, everything is awesome – most of the time. What’s not so awesome is when I become Mr. Hyde and do that resource guarding thing with my food bowl. I am ashamed to admit that I’ve continued to growl and lunge and bite human mom. I know I can do better, but between you and me and the very tempting lamppost outside my house, it’s sort of her fault. She’s scared of me when I act like a psychotic puppy and I can feel her fear, and I’m smart so I take advantage of her weakness.

The one thing I’ve come to learn about human mom, however, is that she is unwilling to admit defeat. She’s a perfectionist. And she refuses to be pushed around by little ‘ole me. So she called in reinforcements. Laura the trainer came back! She couldn’t resist my beautiful mug. Actually, the real reason she came back is because human mom has had ENOUGH. The first time Laura came, I was on my best behavior and kept Mr. Hyde at bay. But once she left, all hell broke loose. Human mom’s not stupid, though. She filmed me in action and sent the proof of my insanity to Laura, who returned again last night – this time in stealth mode. And scared the bejeezus out of me just as I started to growl and lunge at human mom when she filled my bowl with food.

I was so startled by Laura’s appearance that I peed on myself (and on the floor). She showed me that she’s the boss and then had human mom assert her “inner bitch.” Those are Laura’s words, not mine. How I love that woman! And human mom did it. She asserted herself and held my food bowl while I happily ate, wagging my tail. And every time she lifted the bowl out of my reach to show me that she owns the bowl and my food, I patiently sat and eagerly waited for her to bring it back down to my level.

Human mom was a little nervous this morning. Wondering if I’d act like a beast again without Laura here to protect her. Indeed, I lived up to my lunatic reputation and started charging her as soon as the bowl was ready (I figured she needs the practice dealing with this and I exist on this earth to oblige her). But she stunned me by becoming Super Human Mom Who Doesn’t Take Shit From Super Truffle. She stomped her feet loudly on the floor and actually charged me until I retreated out of her space. She made me wait until she gave me permission to come and eat the food she bought for me. And she held my bowl while I enjoyed my breakfast without a single growl.

Human mom was positively giddy when I finished eating. She did it! She put me in my place. We have a long road ahead of us – weeks of practice and a lifetime of reinforcement, but like I said, she is stubborn. She will persevere until my atrocious behavior becomes a distant memory.

I promise to update you on my progress. The good, the bad and the ugly. In the meantime, happy trails, my friends. Until next time.